MORE GROTESQUE INCOMPETENCE IN CALIFORNIA

by Bob Walsh


Way back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth and Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor the voters of the formerly great state of California got conned into approving a HIGH SPEED RAIL project as a ballot initiative.  It was such a great, such a EUROPEAN idea, they couldn't help themselves.  One interesting thing, performance characteristics were written into the law permitting the damn thing to be built.  


It became obvious almost from the start that it could never meet the speed and capacity requirements built into the law and the cost would be hellaciously over what was projected.  Despite numerous court challenges the project continues, sort of.  (The courts ruled that the project has not yet been completely and totally fucked to death so the opponents could not say it had failed.  Yet.)


The state got a buttload of cash from the feds for the project, which even Governor Gavin now admits will never be anywhere near as wonderful as it was suppose to be.  But he doesn't want to give the feds their money back.  So in theory we will end up with a not quite high speed, definitely high cost, rail line about 25 miles long from North Buttcrack to South Buttcrack in the vicinity of Fresno.  How often have you needed to get from North Buttcrack to South Buttcrack in a big hurry, and not have a car when you get there?  (It is actaully from Merced to Bakersfield.  Same thing pretty much.)


Fast forward a bit.  There is a bridge, about 636 feet long, being built as part of the project.  It is the Road 27 Bridge.  It is supposed to carry ordinary road traffic over the railroad right of way.  The bridge, which is relatively new as bridges go (four years) is falling apart.  Literally.  The tension cables are breaking.  The bridging company has had to put in supports from below to keep the damn thing from falling into the BNSF tracks.  


The bridge is so dangerous a stop work order was issued back in November.  


There are a total of FIVE separate layers of consultants on this bridge project.  According to the U C Berkeley civil engineering program any one of those layers of consultants could have and should have spotted the problems.  None did.  


Among other problems with this one bridge have been contaminated concrete, incorrect bridge alignment and missing steel rods in the concrete piers.  


A state audit in 2018 kicked the snot out of the HSRA (High Speed Rail Authority) for over-reliance on outside consultants and experts.  


Due to the multiple layers of oversight it may never be possible to say who actually screwed the pooch.  Field change notices were issued with very little if any competent review.   These notices apparently regularly did not make it up the chain of command and nobody at the top noticed, or cared.  


In any event the Road 27 Bridge Project is a mess.  A total of 72% of the contract requirements that were actually examined were found to be in non-compliance.  Yet still the project continues.  I guess they are anticipating a great need for sort-of high speed rail traffic between Merced and Bakersfield.  I think that is about 70 miles.